Multiple tests have been developed for detecting components in urine. Such tests can provide information about overall health as well as provide an indication of a health problem. When timely administered, such tests may also be able to provide an early indication of a health problem, which may be very advantageous for effective treatment. By way of examples, urine testing can be used to detect urinary tract infections, diabetes (including diabetic ketoacidosis), parasites, dehydration, dietary defects, cancer, high blood pressure, kidney disease, asthma, severe emphysema, alcoholism, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), glomerulonephritis, and leukemia.
Such tests may be performed by having a patient voluntarily collect and provide a sample. However, patient collected urine samples may not be readily available with certain test subjects such as children, elderly adults, and injured or non-ambulatory patients. Additionally, it may be preferable to collect and test urine samples from these subjects at certain times or conditions where the patient is not necessarily in the presence of medical or otherwise specially trained personnel. Frequently, such subjects may be provided with a diaper or other absorbent article to collect urine and provide for disposal in a hygienic manner. Of course, these articles must be periodically checked to determine whether urine and other bodily waste has been collected.
Specific developments have been provided for collecting and detecting urine samples using a diaper and/or an absorbent article. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,713,660 indicates a disposable article that includes a biosensor adapted to detect a specific biological analyte in bodily waste. U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,496 indicates a disposable diaper having one or more chemical reagents applied to the absorbent region that change color when certain components are present. U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,236 indicates a disposable absorbent product that includes a chemically reactive means that is applied, for example, to one or more layers of the absorbent product.
Despite these developments for absorbent articles, a need for improvement remains. An absorbent article that includes a device not only capable of testing a bodily fluid such as urine for one or more particular component(s) but also equipped for indicating that such fluid has been collected and tested would be particularly beneficial. Additionally, an absorbent article that can also provide, in certain embodiments, an effective urine test for detecting and reporting a urinary tract infection would also be particularly beneficial.